


Brother Dearest

by Seagoatink



Series: Survival Isn't Pretty [9]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:42:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6485098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seagoatink/pseuds/Seagoatink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ma’am was not something she wanted to be called by her boyfriend. Especially not in the tone he was using. “Dammit, either you come back with me or I swear I will pick you up and carry you on my shoulders, Garrus. Either way you’re going through that door with me!” Cheska declared as she pointed to her apartment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother Dearest

The Purple Heart facility for wounded veterans at the Citadel was busy, but in the three months on and off that Shepard had seeked medical attention she was grateful the atmosphere had died down it's depression. Today, she visited for a simple medicated bath to soak in. Depending on how the next few days went, Cheska would probably return for chiropractic treatment. 

For now, a walk through the Citadel towards her apartment from Purple Heart needed to be as stress free as possible. Housing was sparse, but always having credits to spare was in the Shepard name, or at least her name. She could not always say the same for her brother. That was one of the reasons she shared her apartment with him. At the moment, he was at their apartment though, getting ready to return to Earth and help set up a new agriculture system and housing.

The elevator was quiet, either the sound system had been knocked out or someone removed it at some point. A faint dinging alerted Cheska that she had reached her floor. She walked out and headed down the hallway toward her apartment to see Garrus leaving her door. Or he was more so storming out with a very serious look in his eyes. “Garrus!” The woman called out, excited to see him as it had been at least a month since their last in person visit. “I didn’t know you were on the Citadel.”

“Is that why you let him stay at your apartment?” Garrus asked, barely slowing his brisk strides until he finally reached his former commanding officer.

The turian seemed more than frustrated and was aiming almost all of his aggression at her. When he tried to break past her and continue to the elevator Cheska grabbed his arm firmly, stopping him from leaving entirely. “What are you talking about?” She asked, shaking her head in confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pressed together. “What the Hell did that boy say?”

Those were damning words apparently. Garrus tried to pull himself away from Shepard’s tight grip and escape to the elevator. “Oh, your new boyfriend said enough, Ma’am,” he said unable to remove her hold on his arm.

Ma’am was not something she wanted to be called by her boyfriend. Especially not in the tone he was using. “Dammit, either you come back with me or I swear I will pick you up and carry you on my shoulders, Garrus. Either way you’re going through that door with me!” Cheska declared as she pointed to her apartment.

He stopped struggling and bent down to face her, eye to eye. She was short, even for a human, standing at five feet and two inches tall compared to his towering six feet eleven inches. When Shepard raised an eyebrow at him his crest waved. In all honestly, Shepard wasn’t sure exactly how to describe the movements of his crest and mandibles. One thing was certain based on the look in his eyes he found the whole idea of being picked up and placed over such a short human’s shoulders amusing.

Huffing in the strange way that turians did, Garrus attempted to cross his arms, only to realize that she was hell-bent to not let him go so easily. “I would love to see you try, Shepard.”

“Well, if that’s how you’re going to be,” Cheska replied as she bent her knees. Before he could even physically protest, she had guided him across her shoulders behind her head. One hand stayed firm on his arm and the other draped across his inner thigh. “You’re not as heavy as you look,” remarked Shepard smugly as she began walking toward her apartment once more.

“Here I was hoping you were going to carry my bridal style all the way to your bed,” Garrus joked when Cheska lowered him to his feet inside the living room. 

On the other side of the room a dark haired man appeared from around the kitchen counter. “Hey, the doctor said you weren’t supposed to carry more than five pounds!” He said. “And that was because she thought you would try to lift twenty more than that just to defy her.”

Standing so close beside her, Cheska could tell Garrus was laughing at his death-defying girlfriend’s inability to follow rules and restrictions. Even ones put in place for her own health. “That doctor sure knows you well.”

The former commander shot Garrus a glare before picking up a pillow from the sofa and chucking it at her brother. She missed of course, primarily because her pre-throw posture was terrible, but she had only missed him by a few centimeters. “Hey! What the Hell was that for!”

“Implying incest to my boyfriend, you shit!” Cheska growled. “Joseph Isaac Shepard, you better apologize right fucking now!”

Garrus had never seen Cheska like this. Even during their suicide mission across the Omega 4 Relay, or when they were facing down the reapers on Earth. Hell, even when the admirals of the flotilla were about to wipe their race from the galaxy, Shepard had never shown this much hostility toward someone. “Shepard, wait,” Garrus said, genuinely concerned for Joseph’s safety.

“Garrus, please,” Cheska said firmly. She certainly wasn’t hostile towards him at least. But that didn’t make up for how nasty she was being to the human in front of her.

Joseph, still safely on the other side of the room let out a sigh of relief. At least his sister was not intent on killing him yet. Most of him thought that was a good thing too. Until, of course, she picked up another pillow and chucked it straight into his abdomen. “Oomph!” He whined, falling to his knees.

“Apologize, jerk!”

“Right, right. I really am Mr. Shepard, but I’m her brother. Look, turian-”

“His name is Garrus, Joey,” Cheska was quick to correct.

“Right, Garrus. Garrus, got it. I know all us humans look alike to you, but my sister and I should look a lot more alike than most other humans,” Joey said, still hunched over and holding his stomach. “I thought you’d realize that after working at C-Sec for so long.”

**Author's Note:**

> I finally finished ME3 the other day and I really needed to de-stress from that whole situation.
> 
> Send questions or prompts to my art blog: skeletalmergoat.tumblr.com


End file.
